Revenue was $591.2 mill for 1Q18, compared with $440.2 mill for 1Q17 and $1,808.6 mill for the 12 months. EBITDA was $17.1 mill for the period, compared with $10.3 mill for 1Q17 and $68.1 mill for 2017. 1Q18 EBIT was $18 mill, which included $9 mill earned in vessel sales, compared to zero for 1Q17.
CEO Jan Rindbo said: ”The dry operator business unit continued to deliver a profitable performance in a first quarter market characterised by seasonal weakening. In addition to profit taking in regional markets, dry operator invested in positioning of vessels into the Atlantic, which we will benefit from in the second quarter.
“The Tanker business once again outperformed the market generating a break-even result, and NORDEN maintains the full-year expectations, despite increased uncertainty for demand growth, due to rising global trade tensions. With low fleet growth and agile business units, NORDEN is well positioned to make the most of the markets regardless of this,” he stressed.
At the end of the quarter, NORDEN had cash and securities totalling $203 mill, plus $10 mill from a share of the cash in joint ventures and undrawn credit facilities of $192 mill.
Outstanding payments on newbuildings and secondhand vessel purchases amounted to $125 mill, which are due 2018-2020.
As for the tanker division, this generated an adjusted net profit of zero, compared with $10 mill in 1Q17 in what was described by the company as an unusually weak winter market.
Norden’s Handysize tankers averaged daily earnings of $12,183 during the period, while MRs average daily earnings were $13,700 per day. The company claimed that compared to the average 12 month timecharter rate over the past year, NORDEN continued to outperform the market by 7%, or $828 per day.
As for the outlook for this year, the company said that it maintained its expectations of an overall adjusted result of around $10-$50 mill.
Earnings forecast for the tanker sector depended on spot market development going forward. Based on around 10,200 open days at the end of April, a change of $1,000 per day in TCEs would lead to a change in earnings of about $10.2 mill, NORDEN explained.